Live Stats
Live Video
Game Notes
SoCon Release

BOONE, N.C. -- The Samford University basketball team will begin a key late-season, three-game road stretch Thursday at 6 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs square off against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a pivotal Southern Conference contest to be held at the Holmes Center.
 
Following Thursday's game, Samford (11-15, 5-6 SoCon) will head to Elon for a Saturday matchup before meeting The Citadel in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 24.
 
The Bulldogs are coming off a huge 92-85 home overtime victory against Chattanooga on Saturday, in which Samford scored its highest point total since March 4, 2008.
 
Samford trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, but consistently chipped away at Chattanooga's lead until midway through the second period when the Bulldogs used a 15-5 run to garner a 59-51 advantage at the 9:20 mark.
 
During Samford's second-half rally, Isaiah Williams ignited the offense with a pair of fast-break layups and a big-time 3-point basket from the right flank.
 
Williams scored 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting and also handed out a team-high five assists. The Bulldogs scored the first five points of overtime as Connor Miller drained a huge 3-pointer from the right win and then Tyler Hood blew by the Chattanooga defense for a key layup at the 2:05 mark in the game.
 
The Bulldogs' defensive attack also continued to get better in the overtime period as Samford built an eight-point lead, 88-80, with just 38 seconds left to play. Chattanooga wouldn't get any closer than five points late in the overtime stanza as the Bulldogs registered the decisive 92-85 triumph
 
Appalachian State (7-16, 3-7 SoCon) is coming off an 84-75 overtime loss at Western Carolina Saturday. On Feb. 6, the Mountaineers snapped a two-game winning streak by defeating The Citadel, 54-45, in Boone. Appalachian State owns a solid 6-5 record at home this season, but is just 1-11 when playing on the road.
 
Samford owns a 2-12 record when playing away from home this year, but is coming off a pivotal 76-68 triumph at Furman in its most recent road contest held Feb. 3.
 
Appalachian State heads into Thursday's contest as the top team in the conference in fewest turnovers per game. The Mountaineers have only committed a total of 267 turnovers this season and are averaging just 11.6 miscues per game in 2013-14. Offensively, junior sharpshooter Tab Hamilton is leading Appalachian State with 13.5 points per contest.
 
The Bulldogs have been victorious in two of their last three meetings with Appalachian State, but are coming off a heartbreaking, 70-67, double-overtime loss to the Mountaineers in Boone last season on Feb. 28. All-time, Samford trails Appalachian State, 6-4, and the Bulldogs are 2-3 when playing on the road in the Holmes Center.
 
In last season's matchup held in Boone, Samford's Miller nearly forced a third overtime period with a possible game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
 
A year ago, Samford's Hood led all scorers with a season-high 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field. The Bulldogs' native of Lenoir City, Tenn., also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds and added two assists and a pair of blocked shots.
 
Tim Williams added 12 points and six rebounds, while logging a career-high 45 minutes of playing time. The Bulldogs' Miller also logged a career-high total in minutes as he earned 47 minutes of game action and accumulated 11 points and six rebounds.
 
Samford concluded last season's game with a final 4-of-17 performance from 3-point distance. Miller made three of the team's four 3-pointers.
 
The Bulldogs have made at least one 3-point field goal in 683-consecutive games.
 
The last time that Samford did not make a 3-point basket was on Jan. 19, 1991, against UTSA. The Bulldogs' streak of having made at least two 3-pointers in a game was snapped on Dec. 13, 2008, against Saint Louis when Samford turned in a dismal 1-for-14 performance from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs' streak of 476-straight games with two 3-pointers began Feb. 8, 1992.
 
UNLV is the national leader in consecutive games with a 3-point field goal as the Running Rebels have made a 3-point basket in 879-straight games dating back to the 1986-87 season. Vanderbilt (873) and Kentucky (870) are the only other two schools that have made at least one 3-point basket since the rule was adopted prior to the 1986 campaign.
 
For the first time this season Tuesday, a single team swept the SoCon Player of the Week awards as Samford's Tim Williams and Isaiah Williams were named the league's Player of the Week and the CRONS Freshman of the Week, respectively.
 
Tim Williams was named the SoCon Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks. Additionally, Isaiah Williams garnered his third Freshman of the Week honor of the 2013-14 campaign. He also received the award in back-to-back weeks on Dec. 3 and 10.
 
Tim Williams averaged 23.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.0 steals per game last week in a pair of contests against league-leaders Davidson and Chattanooga. The Bulldogs' sophomore native of Chicago, Ill., turned in a sizzling 74.1 percent mark from the field and finished 20-of-27 from the floor.
 
Williams is ranked No. 6 in the nation in field-goal percentage. He is shooting a stellar 61.7 percent from the field this season and is ranked first in the SoCon in the category.
 
Additionally, Williams, who was named the 2013 SoCon Freshman of the Year, heads into Thursday's game ranked No. 19 in the country in total field goals made (166), No. 67 in total points (431) and No. 91 in total rebounds (187).
 
Isaiah Williams exploded for 20 points and handed out five assists Saturday as the Bulldogs knocked off first-place Chattanooga, 92-87, in overtime. The speedy 6-foot-1 point guard from Buford, Ga., played 37 minutes in the Southern Rail rivalry contest and finished 7-of-15 from the field.
 
Last week, Williams averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in contests against league-leading Davidson and Chattanooga.
 
Following Thursday's road test at Appalachian State, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their SoCon road trip against the Elon Phoenix in a critical league contest to be held at Alumni Gym.

Live Stats
Live Video
Game Notes
SoCon Release